Mr. Scarlet real life persona was local district attorney Brian Butler. Fed up with criminals successfully circumventing the legal system, he donned a red hooded costume to dole out street justice. His origin was known only to his secretary, Miss Cherry Wade and his ward Pinky.

Mr. Scarlet and Pinky didn’t scare off many criminals with their name. Rather their success in cleaning the city of its scum (to such an extent that demand for his day job as district attorney was virtually eliminated) was rooted in using numerous gadgets carried in an utility belt and tapping into acrobatic hand-to-hand combat skills.